Written by Bob Gansler

A  Title

1958. Communists, aliens, terrorists. As the nation faced these many dangers, President Eisenhower brought together the greatest heroes of the day as the Avengers. Together, they protect America from the threats of this world and of others.

Cast of Characters

Previously

Marvel Boy (Bob Grayson)  An Earthman armed with the skills and science of the Eternals of Uranus.  Gorilla-Man (Ken Hale)  A man cursed to to live in the form of a powerful gorilla. 3-D Man (Hal & Chuck Chandler)  When Hal dons a special pair of glasses, his brother Chuck emerges as the triple-power 3-D Man. Venus  Olympian goddess of love  Captain America ('Steve Rogers')  A man so devoted to original star-spangled patriot that he became him. Bucky (Jack Monroe)  A fiercely patriotic boy endowed with the Super-Soldier Formula. Cold Warrior (Will Sinkowitz)  A brilliant scientist who designed a suit that grants him the power to generate cold.

At a White House press conference, the Chinese assassin called "The Man With No Face" attacked along with his Faceless Horde. The combined power of the Avengers and Air Force One saved the day. Afterwards, President Eisenhower made an executive decision regarding Colonel Nick Fury's mission to Moreau Island.

Inside the White House, President Eisenhower sat in the alone inside of the Oval Office. He was busy signing a number of bills that had been sent to him by Congress. While his was in favor of all of the professed parts of these bills, he was reading them closely to make sure that the Congress was not trying to slip something by him.

Once he had affixed his signature to each of the bills, he buzzed his secretary. "I've signed all of the bills. You can take them now." He depressed the "talk" button again. "And bring in all the files regarding Fury and the Moreau Island situation."

Thirty minutes later, Eisenhower had gone through the reports on Moreau Island. The summary of the situation was that Moreau Island was the site of some American atomic tests under the previous administration. The island was in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean, unclaimed by any nation. Military officials had deemed it an appropriate site for atomic tests. Now a few years later, the Soviets were suspected of undertaking some sort of activity on the island. A top-notch CIA team, led by Colonel Nicholas Fury was dispatched to find out what was going on. There was no report. A rescue operation was undertaken, but nothing was heard from them either.

The course of action was clear to Eisenhower. He would call in the Avengers. He brought out his Interplanetary Cosmic Radio from its storage cabinet and activated it. The device hummed to life and Eisenhower spoke into the microphone. "Calling the Avengers. This is President Eisenhower. Please report to the White House at two o’clock this afternoon. It’s a matter of national urgency. Calling the Avengers …"

Inside of the underground facility that had been carved out under the airfield, the Human Robot was engaged in installing some sensitive communications equipment. Marvel Boy was running some diagnostic tests on the Silver Bullet. It was time for a complete overhaul, but he really was not looking forward to the arduous task. Gorilla-Man was lounging in a chair. He was exhausted from all of the lifting and carrying of equipment that he had been doing.

"So, Spaceboy," he called out. "Which one these gizmos that I’ve been lugging is gonna cure me?"

"These gizmos," Marvel Boy retorted, "are some of the finest products of Uranian science."

"Well, they don’t mean a dadblasted thing to me unless they can make me human again. You promised that you’d do that, you know. That’s why I rejoined this group."

Marvel Boy sighed. "I promised, and I've tried. And for me, trying is just about as good as doing. It’s just going to take time. I’ve been squeezing whatever time I could towards your situation, but between setting up this new base and dealing with threats, both by myself and with the Avengers, I haven’t had a lot of opportunity."

"Excuses, excuses," Gorilla-Man grumbled.

Marvel Boy’s and Gorilla-Man’s attention was turned towards the message being relayed over the PA system from the ICR. The Human Robot was receiving the same message via his internal radio.

"Calling the Avengers. This is President Eisenhower. Please report to the White House at two o’clock this afternoon. It’s a matter of national urgency. Calling the Avengers …"

"I guess we’re going back to the White House again," Gorilla-Man announced. "Doesn’t Ike have anybody else to do his dirty work for him?"

Venus was strolling through Central Park with her friend Whitney Hammond. The owner of a successful dating service, he was trying to convince Venus to lend her efforts to the firm.

"Can’t you see all the good you could do?" he pleaded. "With your powers of love, you could make the business an even bigger success and generate more love in the world at the same time."

"Whitney!" Venus exclaimed. "I’m ashamed of you. I would never use my powers to force people into love just for the benefit of your company." She wrapped her shawl tight across her body.

Whitney put his hands. "Whoa there, lovely lady. You’re taking this the wrong way. I’m not asking you to force people into love when there’s nothing there." He took Venus by the hand. She was simply breathtaking to him in her flowing white dress. "What I’m saying is that you could serve as a counselor, to ignite the fires that are there, and identify when it’s not, saving people lots of heartache. That’s what I’m talking about."

"Hmm," Venus thought as she grasped Whitney’s hand. "The idea does have merit. It could make my message of love be spread easier. I’ll have to give it some thought."

"That’s all, I’m asking, gorgeous," Whitney said contentedly.

A buzzing noise came from Venus’ purse which startled Whitney.

"What’s that? Some kind of makeup timer?"

Venus brushed her hand at Whitney. "You silly. You know the goddess of love doesn’t need makeup. It’s my ICR communicator. Somebody’s trying to call me."

As Venus dug the device out of her, Whitney thought to himself. "A phone inside of a purse. Sounds like something out of one of those movies about the future."

Venus put the ICR to her ear and held it there for a few moments and then spoke into it. "Venus responding". She put it back in her purse. "I’m sorry Whitney, but I have to take the next train to Washington. The President’s calling."

"Rats," Whitney said. "And here I was hoping to spend the day with you. At least let me go with you in a cab to Grand Central?"

"I’d be delighted to share the cab with you," Venus responded with a smile.

Steve Rogers was watching his History 101 class take one of his dreaded "current events" quizzes. The class had moaned loudly when he had announced the surprise quiz at the beginning of class. Once again he had caught them unaware. Now he would find out who the true students were and who were the slackers.

{The Fifties Cap began teaching at Roosevelt CC in Captain America 1958 #1}

Jack Monroe knocked on the door and came into the classroom. Steve looked up to notice his sidekick in civilian garb. If he were here, something must be up.

"Mr. Rogers, there’s a message for you at the office. It’s your Aunt Carrie. She’s been taken to hospital," Jack explained.

"I see," Steve responded. Jack was using the codewords for explaining that a message had come through on the ICR. "I’ll have to check up on her right away." He took a look at his watch. "All right, that’s enough time. Pass your quizzes to the front."

"But Mr. Rogers," the class complained. "We still have five minutes."

"If you don’t have the answers on the sheet by now," Steve replied, "you never will. Now pass the sheets forward and then class is dismissed."

The class responded enthusiastically to the news of dismissal. The quizzes were hurriedly passed forward and the students rushed out of the classroom. "Don’t forget to read the next chapter for Monday," Steve called out.

Finally, Steve and Jack were alone in the classroom. "So what’s the story chum?"

"The President wants us and the other Avengers in DC this afternoon," Jack replied.

"OK. Let’s gas up the roadster and get on the road to the capital," Steve declared. "Captain America and Bucky have a job to do."

Hal Chandler was busy sitting at his desk and going over some very boring appropriations language. Still, he was happy to do it. He had landed a job as a congressional aide in the office of Congressman Simon. Not only was he doing what he studied to do at La Brea University, but he was able to keep a close eye on the Congressman. He had figured the Congressman to be a prime target of Skrull activity and the position allowed him to keep close tabs on him. He kept a list of all of the Congressman’s mannerisms. If by some trick the Skrulls managed to nab him and impersonate him, Hal would have the information that would allow him to uncover the impostor. At least that is what he hoped.

A knock came at the door which disturbed him from his work. Hal looked up to see a man in a white labcoat with some sort of identification badge dangling from it. "Hal Chandler?" the man said.

"Yes, that’s me," Hal replied. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, you’re needed at the White House."

"Me? I didn’t know that the Congressman was having a meeting there."

The man raised his coat to shield his voice. "No, Hal. It’s not about Simon, it’s about the Avengers," he whispered. "It’s me, the Cold Warrior. The President wants us to meet with him at two o’clock."

"Ah, OK," Hal whispered back. He had forgotten his portable ICR at his apartment this morning. "I’m such a dope," he chided himself.

At two o’clock, all of the Avengers had assembled inside of the Oval Office. Eisenhower had a map on that wall that depicted Moreau Island’s position in the Pacific.

"So this is the situation. I want you to rescue one of our top CIA agents, and also one of our war heroes, Nick Fury." He pointed to the map. "Fury was here, investigating Soviet activity, when we lost contact. A rescue team failed as well. That’s why I called you."

"Nick Fury!" Hal exclaimed. "He was the leader of the Howling Commandos. You and him fought together a few times, didn’t you Cap?"

"Yes, er, that's right. Fury’s a good man," Cap replied uncomfortably.

"What’s the nature of the threat, Mr. President?" Marvel Boy asked.

"I don’t know, but it’s got to be tough to bring down two teams of crack CIA operatives."

"How do we even know he’s still alive?" Gorilla-Man grumbled. This sounded like a wild goose chase to him.

"Because we implanted him with an experimental homing device before he left. As long as he’s still alive, the device will transmit."

"What is the frequency of the signal," the Human Robot inquired.

"Two million, five thousand, twenty-three megahertz," Eisenhower responded. "Can you dial in on that."

The Human Robot was quiet for a second. "I have acquired the frequency. The signal is still transmitting."

"That all I can tell you," Eisenhower said. "Best of luck to you."

"We’ll bring back our man," Bucky exclaimed enthusiastically.

The Avengers filed out of the Oval Office and onto the White House lawn where the Silver Bullet was parked. As they boarded the craft, Gorilla-Man asked, "Hey weren’t you supposed to do an overhaul on the Bullet? I hope it doesn’t break down if we’re going into enemy territory."

"Don’t worry," Marvel Boy replied. "The Bullet is undetectable and impervious to Earth technology.

Deep beneath the island, a vast underground complex hummed with all sorts of electronic activity. At the heart of the facility stood the diminutive mastermind behind it all. While he was small in stature, his intellect was large, both figuratively and literally. His head was twice as large as someone with that body size had a right to be, and that extra-sized head housed a large and powerful brain. The man stared at the subject before him.

The bedraggled form of Nick Fury was held fast to a movable table. The table was standing upright now with Nick’s hands and ankles fastened to it with metal buckles. "Hey, big brain," Fury called out hoarsely. "I haven’t heard you brag for a whole five minutes now. Your mad scientists experiments not working out how you wanted?"

The man turned around, displaying to Fury his grotesque features. "I am not ‘Big Brain’ nor am I a ‘Mad Scientist’, Fury. I am the greatest scientific mind of the Soviet state. I am the Gargoyle!"

{The Gargoyle first appeared in Incredible Hulk #1}

"Yeah, I know your name. You tell me it in just about every one of your rants," Fury shot back.

"It is not ranting," the Gargoyle turned away from Fury and then towards a large plastic tube that held a vaguely humanoid form. "It is simply explaining the superiority that you face."

"Oh sure," Fury retorted. "You’re so superior."

The Gargoyle shot back an angry glare with his crooked eye. "Did not my Red Star Brigade dispose you your CIA team as well as the team that came to rescue you?"

"Your superpowered goons did a number on my agents," Fury huffed, "but I’ve seen tougher in the war, both on your side but especially on ours."

"Comparisons are pointless, Fury." The Gargoyle’s tone was calm once again. "The Black Hundreds of the state are disbanded. The operatives are either dead or in hiding. Even the great Shchit has dropped out of sight. Your famed Liberators are a thing of the past as well. The toughest members of your ‘Murderers Row’ are gone. Namor, the Human Torch, Captain America - all gone."

The Gargoyle adjusted some dials that introduced some purple liquid into the plastic tube. "I am creating the next generation of Soviet superpowered soldiers. The Red Star Brigade are the first wave of them, but what I am creating now will surpass even their might."

"So why are you doing it here?" fury asked.

"You ask many questions, in hope of delaying matters until you might escape or be rescued." The Gargoyle laughed. "Neither of those things will come to pass. However, I will humor your curiosity if only as a courtesy for what you shall provide to my creation. Your fighting prowess, your tactical knowledge, your determination will become a part of my creation."

The Gargoyle stopped the flow of the purple liquid to the tank and checked his dials. He smiled at the readouts. "As to why we are here, it is because of the atomic tests that you Americans performed here. I am an expert in the field of radiation. I discovered with my sensors that tests here exhibited a certain type of radiation, one that is generally harmless but could be harnessed to create great power."

Just then six costumed figures entered the room. "Are you torturing our prisoner with all of your scientific talk," a bald man asked. A bushy Lenin-like brown mustache and beard was on his face and his body was covered with a thick red woolen cape.

"No, General Winter,’ the Gargoyle replied. "I was simply telling him why we are here."

"Is that wise," General Winter responded. "Those are secrets of the state."

"You will remember," the Gargoyle answered, "that I am in command here. Most of your owe your existence to me. Besides, Mr. Fury is not going anywhere."

"Not now, anyway,’ Fury growled.

"In fact, for our amusement I will read to Mr. Fury excerpts from the dossiers on each of you. In that way he might know better how his CIA agents were soundly defeated.

The Gargoyle pointed to General Winter. "That, of course, is General Winter. He is the field commander of the Red Star Brigade."

Directing Fury’s attention to a man with a red bodysuit, and red mask, white gloves, white boots, and a white gun holster belt. "That is the Red Guardian. You might have met him during the war.

The green hulking form stepped forward. His skin was green. He wore a red fez upon his head and red trunks about his waist. The hammer and sickle were tattooed on his chest in yellow. "This is Electro. He has fought with one of your Captain Americas before.

Pointing towards a figure in a scarlet red spacesuit, the Gargoyle explained. "If your intelligence community is as effective as it claims to be, you would know that the Soviet state was been attempting manned spaceflight for the past few years. This is Kosmonaut."

The Gargoyle beckoned for a shapely metallic female figure to come over. "This ‘lovely lady’ is one of my greatest inventions. She is Matrushka."

"So that's why there were a bunch of her on the battlefield," Fury noted.

"The last member of the Brigade is Perun, the legendary Slavic god of thunder." The Gargoyle directed Fury's attention to the powerful figure in green scaled leather armor. The big-bearded man carried a large axe in his hands. A yellow crown adorned his head and a large red cape flowed behind him.

"A Slavic god, you gotta be kidding me!" Fury objected.

"Ours is an atheist society," the Gargoyle replied. "Perhaps he is only some other species with extraordinary powers. Whatever his origin, we control him. By the mental conditioning we have performed on his host Yuri Kloskov, we have control of Perun."

"You got a real bunch of clowns led by a gargoyle, Gargoyle," Fury said indignantly.

"You had best watch your tongue," the Gargoyle snapped back. "Else I might …" The Gargoyle’s threat was interrupted by a klaxon bell blaring throughout the facility. "That sound can only mean one thing. Something is entering our defense perimeter." The Gargoyle hurried over to a control bank. Whatever it is will be greeted by my hunter missiles." He pressed a series of buttons in order to launch.

Somewhere outside on the island floor, a bank of mutated palm trees was lifted into the air by a missile bay underneath. Six missiles erupted from the bay and headed eastward.

Inside of the Silver Bullet, the Avengers were preparing for touchdown on Moreau Island.

"You sure that this ship is invisible to radar, Spaceboy?" Gorilla-Man growled.

"Quite certain," Marvel boy replied. He was making final course adjustments for landing. Moreau Island was only a few miles west. He was startled by the alarm bells and lights that activated.

"What in Sam Hill is that?" 3-D Man cried out. He sat next to the unconscious form of his brother Hal who was in the coma-like state he went into whenever he summoned the 3-D Man.

"Incoming missiles!" Marvel Boy shouted back. "They’ve targeted us."

"So much for being invisible," Gorilla-Man grumbled.

Cap leapt from his seat and headed towards the cockpit. Bucky followed close behind.

"Aw c’mon, Cap. Aren’t you gonna tell me what happened in San Cubano?" the all-American kid asked.

{Cap dealt with a situation in San Cubano in Journey Into Unknown Worlds #64-66}

"Later, Bucky. I want to know what’s going on." Cap now stood behind Marvel Boy. "Do they have a lock on us?"

"Unfortunately, yes. My Uranian electronic counter-measures don’t seem to be affecting them," Marvel Boy said despondently. He was pressing a wide variety of buttons, trying to throw off the lock that the missiles had upon the Silver Bullet. "I suggest you buckle yourselves in. It could get bumpy."

Cap and Bucky headed aft and buckled themselves in, instructing the rest of the Avengers to do the same.

"Evasive maneuvers commencing now," Marvel Boy shouted out. With that, the Silver Bullet lurched from side to side and rose and dove trying to avoid the missiles.

"I think I’m going to be sick," Cold Warrior moaned.

"I can’t lose them," Marvel Boy exclaimed. "Prepare for impact." Scant seconds later the Silver Bullet was rocked by a tremendous explosion. One of the missiles completely destroyed the starboard wing of the Silver Bullet. The other missiles fortunately missed, but just barely. The craft could no longer stay aloft and dropped towards the ocean, a few hundred yards from the shore of Moreau Island.

The Silver Bullet crashed into the ocean, but its hull withstood the impact and did not buckle. The Avengers inside were thrown about the cabin, the force of the impact tearing their safety harnesses.

Marvel Boy struggled towards the port side door and opened it. "We’d better get out," he recommended. "I’m not sure if the hydrogen-uranium fuel cells will maintain stability."

The Avengers followed his instructions and dove out into the sea. Once the Cold Warrior was outside, he created a sheet of ice for the team to stand upon.

All of the Avengers clambered up onto the icesheet. Gorilla-Man was having the most trouble. "Now I can say that I’ve gotten splashed in two oceans," he grumbled.

{The Avengers fought in the Atlantic while subduing Nemo in issue #8}

Inside of the complex, the Gargoyle issued orders to his superhuman operatives. "My sensors report that the missiles have impacted. Deal with any survivors, Red Star Brigade. I shall continue with my experiments."

General Winter led the Brigaders out towards to an elevator that would take them to the surface. "For the Soviet State," he urged.

The Gargoyle turned towards the captive Fury. "Now is the time for me to extract the knowledge from your brain, Mr. Fury. Don’t worry, this won't kill you, but it will hurt." The Gargoyle lowered a mechanical apparatus onto Fury's head and tightened it fast. "Yes, it will hurt."

Powered by the Human Robot’s strong legs and the tide, the icesheet slowly moved towards the shore of Moreau Island.

3-D Man put his right hand over his red and green goggles. He focused his triple-vision. "I think I see something coming from the island. And one of the something’s looks familiar."

As the icesheet drew closer, Captain America knew what the 3-D Man was talking about. He instantly recognized the green hulking form of Electro. "See that, Bucky?"

"You know it, Cap." Bucky pounded his right fist into his left hand. "Electro!"

General Winter stood at the water’s edge. Electro stood at his right side and Red Guardian was at his left. Matrushka, Kosmonaut, and Perun stood behind them, forming a diamond shape. "Surrender, Americans!" General Winter proclaimed. "You face the unbridled might of the Red Star Brigade!"

"Oh yeah," Gorilla-Man shouted back. "I’m just itching to beat on some Commies."

"Amen to that," Captain America agreed. "I’m going to discharge your permanently this time, Electro!"

"Pour it on, HR," 3-D Man urged. "There’s Commies up ahead."

"Increasing speed," the Human Robot replied. The remaining few yards to shore were covered in a matter of seconds.

"Go, Avengers, Go!" Marvel Boy cried out as he leapt from the ice sheet. The other Avengers eagerly followed his lead. The Red Star Brigade moved to meet the charge. Kosmonaut intercepted Marvel Boy before he could reach General Winter. The Red Guardian stepped towards Cap and Bucky. Gorilla-Man and Electro headed straight for each other. General Winter directed his attention towards the Cold Warrior. 3-D Man and Venus approached Perun. That left the Human Robot to face Matrushka. Then the battle erupted in full force.

FLASHBACKWORDS

NEXT ISSUE: Superpowers of the Superpowers
The Avengers and the Red Star Brigade battle. Can the heroes overcome the Soviets before the Gargoyle unleashes his super soldier?

Comments, criticisms, and concerns for FLASHBACKWORDS accepted at rgansler@facstaff.wisc.edu

The Avengers 1958 web page is at http://www.cae.wisc.edu/~gansler/avengers58/av58.htm